Archive for September 2011

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
Last night at the Center for the Junior Blind in Baldwin Hills, Congresswoman Karen Bass and Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali spoke about fixing public education as "the most important civil rights issue of our generation." And yet, In laying out where we stand now and the Obama administration's ambitious goals for fixing public education by 2020 Assistant Secretary Ali tried the impossible task of trying to reconcile her optimism with her equally honest assessment that there was not only no money to fix public education, but the rather extreme likelihood that there would be even less in the future.

29

09 2011

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
If you have been targeted for dismissal as a teacher by LAUSD, there is one way that you might be able to defend yourself, which United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and their attorneys at Trygstad, Schwab & Trygstad seem to avoid at all costs.
California Education Code Section 44944 requires:
(a) (1) In a dismissal or suspension proceeding initiated
pursuant to Section 44934, if a hearing is requested by
the employee,the hearing shall be commenced within 60
days from the date of the employee's demand for a hearing.
This provision is presently ignored by LAUSD, UTLA, and Trystad,
Schwab & Trygstad to the detriment of the teacher being brought up on
charges and facing dismissal.

19

09 2011

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
As perdaily approaches its two year anniversary this November of writing about all the news that's fit to print about the inept Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), that somehow never seems to see the light of day with the Los Angeles Times or any other mainstream media outlet - or Broad and Gates Foundation financially dependent National Public Radio outlets for that matter. In moments of self-doubt, one wonders whether we are making a difference?
With the excellent self-critical educational skills that I developed as a student from an LAUSD of a different era during the 1950s and 1960s, I reflected as we post our 300th blog post as to whether what I am reporting makes any difference in the unceasing and purposeful decline of public education at LAUSD and the rest of predominantly minority filled public school districts throughout this country. After all, it's hard to stay a racist without LAUSD and its compadres throughout this country continuing to cultivate stereotypes of Black and Latino stupidity from the naive optimism of Black and Latino children and their parents who continue to pursue the American dream, when they should know better by now.

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
When I read Mr. Isenberg's blog about the rubber rooms, I thought the District's process was, at worst, simply stupid. This morning, I had an opportunity to visit one of these teachers at his temporary assignment.
Teachers call these temporary assignments "rubber rooms", apparently due to the similarity to holding facilities at mental hospitals that have walls made of rubber to prevent patient self-injury. What I observed was appalling - and what I heard was even worse. Teachers are required to sit in separated cubicles that are more reminiscent of jail visiting facilities than of a school site. I also confirmed that the District has given them absolutely nothing to do - not even "busy work". Having been required to work at an empty desk during my own whistleblowing experience, I know that being required to do nothing while being watched constantly is an extremely stressful and totally punitive procedure.

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
LAUSD continues to incarcerate more and more innocent teachers in "rubber rooms" (usually Local District Offices) in a desperate attempt to either balance their budget or get rid of competent teachers who have balked at going along with LAUSD corruption and long failed business as usual policies that administrators without imagination haven't a clue how to change. In a culture that finds daycare in lieu of the excellent public education preferable, these teachers were foolish enough to believe that they could implement against LAUSD & UTLA incompetent self-dealing, something better and consistent with the ideals that got them into teaching in the first place. These teacher are tortured on a daily basis by LAUSD administrators who would have no trouble working a Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo..

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
If you were a school district like the Los Angeles Unified School District that had a $408 million budget shortfall for the academic year 2011-2012 and $15 billion in unfunded and already vested lifetime medical benefits, what would you do?
Here's a little gambit that would make Bernie Madoff or John Gotti proud. The scintillating intellects at LAUSD and their new Superintendent John Deasy straight from the Gates Foundation with his mandate to privatize public education, tells his underlings to target teachers with the following characteristics:

(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
H.L. (Henry Louis) Mencken, like recently termed out UTLA President A.J. Duffy eschewed the use of a first and middle name throughout his career, which I am sad to say is about all these two men have in common. Mencken, who was known at the "Sage of Baltimore" for his satire, wit, and journalistic excellence would have had a field day in examining the blatant hypocrisy of A.J. Duffy and his mercenary proclivities for never being fettered by any belief that he wasn't willing to sell out...for the right price.